Bread Pudding – Bead Yarn & Spatula

Savory Focaccia Bread Pudding

As promised a second bread pudding recipe this week. This time a savory bread pudding made with focaccia bread. Once again, I had this focaccia left over after ordering Italian food. It was too much and I didn’t want it to go to waste and bread pudding is always a great way to use up left-over bread, but a typical bread pudding that is normally sweet wouldn’t work for this focaccia so I thought I could possibly make a savory version and I was right.

Here’s a look at the leftover focaccia. I let it sit for a day, so it became quite hard but that was perfect. It meant I wouldn’t have to toast it before using it.

I cut it up into cubes and added it to a large bowl.

In a large skillet I cooked mushrooms, onions, green pepper and celery that I seasoned with minced garlic, chopped thyme, salt and pepper until the vegetables were soft and most of the juices in the pan had evaporated.

While the vegetables were cooking, I made the custard by whisking together heavy whipping cream and eggs that I seasoned with salt and pepper.

Once the vegetable where ready I added them to the bowl with the focaccia cubes along with fresh parsley and gave everything a few good stirs.

I let the vegetables cool for about 10 minutes before adding in the custard mixture to the focaccia cube mixture. I then transferred it to a 9×13-inch baking dish that I sprayed with cooking spray and then topped it with shredded parmesan cheese. I let it sit for about 15 minutes so the focaccia cubes could soak in the custard.

I then baked it in a 350 F preheated oven for about an hour. After letting it sit for a few minutes it was time to slice. This was delicious. Definitely something I will make again. An added bonus, it tasted even better the next day as the flavors really had time to marry. And if you are trying to adopt a Meatless Monday diet this is ideal with a side salad and you will have leftovers for a few days. If you don’t have focaccia or want to use another type of bread, like an Italian or French loaf, I would suggest toasting the cubes before using them or letting the bread sit for a day or two so it can become stale and withstand the custard without becoming too soggy.

Savory Focaccia Bread Pudding

Servings: 10 to 12
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Ingredients:

10 cups cubed focaccia*

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 8oz. packages sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

3 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

8 large eggs

1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Salt

Pepper

*Can use a different type of bread. Just make sure it’s stale or if using fresh bread, cube and then toast in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 350 F.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9×13–inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Place cubed focaccia in a large bowl.

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat-high heat. Add the mushrooms, chopped onions, chopped green pepper and sliced celery along with the chopped thyme and minced garlic to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and sauté until the vegetables are soft and most of the juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes.

Add the cooked vegetables and chopped parsley to the cubed focaccia. Give it a few good stirs and then let the vegetables cool for about 10 minutes.

While the vegetables cool make the custard. In a large bowl whisk together the heavy cream and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper.

Once the vegetables have cooled, add the custard to the bowl with the cubed focaccia and vegetables. Give it a few good stirs and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the shredded parmesan cheese.

Let the bread pudding sit for 15 minutes and then bake in the preheated oven uncovered for 50-60 minutes, until set and the top is golden. Let sit for 20 minutes before slicing.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Modified from Epicurious

Small Batch Bread Pudding

This week I am bringing you two different types of bread puddings. A traditional sweet small batch today and a savory one later this week. Both of these came about due to leftover bread after ordering Italian food.

Truthfully, I made this small batch bread pudding twice. The first batch with half of a rustic loaf and then to tweak the recipe I used regular sliced white bread.

First, I sliced the bread into cubes. Now, bread pudding is best made with thick crusty bread to absorb the custard, when I used the rustic bread that was the perfect consistency. With the sliced white bread, it was a few days past its expiration date, and I had it in the refrigerator, so it was kind of stale already. It wouldn’t have hurt to toast it in the oven for a few minutes before using it though.

Next I divided the bread among three ramekins that I lightly greased with butter and placed on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl I whisked together the contents for the custard – eggs, milk, heavy whipping cream, sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract – and then transferred it to a large measuring cup to make it easy to pour and divide among the ramekins. I let them sit for about 10 minutes so the bread could soak in the custard.

I then baked them in a 350 F preheated oven for about 45 minutes. I knew they were ready when they had puffed up, were golden brown on top and most importantly a cake tester inserted in the middle came out clean. And while the custard did overflow a bit and they were a bit humongous on top they did “deflate” as they cooled. Most importantly though they were delicious.

Here’s a pic of the one’s I made with the rustic bread deflated and cooled.

Later this week, a savory bread pudding made with focaccia. YUM!

Small Batch Bread Pudding

Servings: 3
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Ingredients:

3 cups cubed bread

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon group nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter three 8oz. ramekins and place on a baking sheet.

Divide the bread among the buttered ramekins.

Whisk the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Transfer to a measuring cup and divide the mixture among the ramekins. Let sit for 10-15 minutes so the bread can soak in the liquid.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let the bread pudding cool on the baking sheet. While cooling the bread pudding will deflate after rising considerably during baking.

Enjoy once cool or refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Banana Bread Pudding

It’s been a while since I have used my slow cooker and even longer since I have used it to make dessert but recently I decided to dust it off to make a bread pudding, well, not just any bread pudding, but a Banana Bread Pudding. If you’re not a fan of banana flavored desserts don’t worry, the banana flavor is not overpowering.

I did some prep work the night before. I cut a loaf of Challah bread into cubes and then toasted them in the oven for 20 minutes at 300 F. While the bread was in the oven I generously greased the inside of my slow cooker insert with softened butter. The recipe called for one tablespoon, but, I ended up using about 4 tablespoons. I have “baked” things in my slow cooker in the past and regardless of me following the directions to a T my items have always been burnt. I’ve chalked it up to not using enough butter and I didn’t want that to happen again.

After removing the bread from the oven I let it cool for a few minutes and then placed it in an even layer inside of my slow cooker insert.

In a large bowl I combined the ingredients for the custard – eggs, half-and-half, granulated & brown sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and mashed bananas – and whisked them together until they were combined. I then poured this mixture over the bread in the insert and pressed the bread into the liquid to submerge it. I covered it and then refrigerated it overnight.

The next morning I removed it from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes uncovered.

After the 30 minutes I placed the insert inside of the slow cooker base, covered it and cooked it on the low setting for about 4 ½ hours. The bread pudding will rise considerably while it’s cooking, mine almost touched the cover.

Once the bread pudding was done I removed the insert and let the bread pudding cool before inverting it onto a dish.

I attempted to make a caramel sauce to go along with the bread pudding but I had two failed attempts. The first time my caramel had a burnt taste to it and the second time my sugar never melted. So, I decided to nix the caramel sauce and just enjoy a piece with vanilla ice cream. Which was just perfect.

The was by far the best bread pudding I have ever made and I will definitely be making it again.

Slow Cooker Banana Bread Pudding

Servings: 8
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Ingredients:

1 16 oz. Challah Bread, cut into cubes

3-4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

8 large eggs

4 cups half-and-half (1 quart)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

vanilla ice cream and/or caramel sauce for serving

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 F

Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet and toast them in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring them halfway through toasting. Let them cool for 10 minutes.

Grease the insert of your slow cooker with the softened butter.

Once the bread is cool, transfer it to the slow cooker and arrange in an even layer.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs and then add in the half-and-half, both sugars, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and mashed bananas. Whisk everything together to combine.

Pour the egg mixture over the bread and press the bread to submerge it into the liquid. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator, uncover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Place the insert into the base of your slow cooker, cover, and cook on high for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours or on low 4 to 5 hours. The bread pudding is ready when it is set and not jiggly in the center. The internal temperature should be above 175 F when tested. It will be considerably puffy, but will subside as it cools.

Remover the insert from the base and let the bread pudding cool for about 15 minutes before inverting onto a plate. Alternatively, you could just serve it from the insert itself.

Enjoy with ice cream and/or caramel sauce.

Recipe slightly modified from Simply Recipes

Bourbon Bread Pudding

With the summer in full swing you might have enjoyed a hamburger or hot dog by now. And with those summer BBQ staples comes one dilemma I’m sure most have you have faced… left-over hamburger and hot dog buns. If you haven’t, you’re lucky. I was facing this very dilemma after my July 4^th BBQ. I bought extra buns just in case, and while most of it went I still had some left that I just wouldn’t be able to finish on my own. So, I started thinking what I could make with them. A Bourbon Bread Pudding sounded like a good option.

To start, I soaked a cup of raisins in a quarter cup of Jim Beam Bourbon. I let them sit for about 2 hours until most of the bourbon had been soaked up by the raisins. You can actually do this step a day or two before you plan on making your bread pudding.

Since the hot dog buns were still fresh, I had to make them “stale” so that they wouldn’t fall apart too much when I added the liquid. To do so I toasted the bread. I began by slicing 8 hot dogs buns into cubes. Without splitting the buns in half, I sliced them in half lengthwise and then sliced them again into cubes. I placed them on a baking sheet and toasted them a 350 F preheated oven for about 15 minutes. Until the cubes were toasted, but not burnt.

Once the bread had cooled I transferred it to a large bowl and added in a quart of whole milk. Using my hands I pressed the bread into the milk until all of it was absorbed.

In a medium bowl I whisked together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, allspice and cinnamon.

Once the egg mixture was well combined I poured it over the bread mixture and then gently folded everything together. Finally I folded in the bourbon soaked raisins, adding in any bourbon that hadn’t been soaked up by the raisins as well.

I poured the mixture into 9×13 baking dish that I brushed with melted butter and baked it in a 350 F preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes.

When done, the edges of the bread pudding were brown and pulling away from the baking dish. And while the center was still a little wet, I knew that it would firm up as it cooled.

And while it cooled I made a bourbon sauce to drizzle over the bread pudding. In a medium saucepan I melted a stick of unsalted butter over low heat. I then added in sugar and an egg and whisked everything to combine. As the mixture continued to cook over low heat I constantly stirred it until it began to thicken. At this point I removed it from the heat and whisked in bourbon.

The sauce was the perfect topping to a slice of the bread pudding, all that was missing was a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Bourbon Bread Pudding

Servings: 10-12
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Ingredients:

Bread Pudding:

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup whiskey bourbon

8 hot dog buns, cut into cubes

1 quart whole milk

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Bourbon Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

Directions:

In a small bowl combine the raisins and 1/4 cup of bourbon whiskey, cover and let sit until the raisins soak up most of the liquid. At least one to two hours.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place the cubes of bread on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until crispy, about 12 – 15 minutes. If you find the bread still soft on the bottom, flip and bake for a few more minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a large bowl. Add the milk and using your hands press the bread into the milk until it’s absorbed.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs together and then whisk in the sugar, vanilla extract, allspice and cinnamon. Pour this over the bread mixture.

Fold the two mixtures together until well incorporated and then gently stir in the bourbon soaked raisins, adding in any bourbon that wasn’t soaked up by the raisins.

Pour the melted butter into the bottom of 9×13 baking dish and using a pastry brush (or napkin) coat the bottom and sides of the dish with the butter. Pour the bread pudding mixture into the dish and bake in the oven for 40 – 50 minutes.

The bread pudding is ready when the edges begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the baking dish.

Remove from the oven and let cool.

While the bread pudding is cooling you can make the bourbon sauce.

In a medium saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the sugar and egg and whisk to blend it. Continue cooking the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened. It should be able to coat the back of a spoon. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the bourbon.

Serve the bread pudding with the bourbon sauce drizzled over it.

Recipe modified from Simply Recipies

Slow Cooker Sunday: Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This week for Slow Cooker Sunday I am bringing you something different… Dessert. Most people don’t think of making dessert in their slow cooker. I know I usually don’t. I tried making brownies once and it was a complete mess. Thankfully I had lined the insert of my slow cooker with aluminum foil so the clean-up wasn’t that bad. Thankfully this week’s Pumpkin Bread Pudding wasn’t a total mess and gave me hope that dessert is possible in a slow cooker. With Thanksgiving coming up this week this may be a good alternative to the customary pumpkin pie or a good addition to your dessert table.

First though let me introduce you to the newest addition to my kitchen… A smaller slow cooker. The slow cooker I normally use is 5 1/2 – quart and while it is a great size, I have a wonderful slow cooker cookbook with amazing recipes that call for a smaller one. Hence this 4 – quart one.

Now back to the recipe… To begin I cubed a small French baguette and set it aside.

Then in a large mixing bowl I combined eggs, granulated and brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger and beat them until smooth.

To that mixture I added pumpkin, milk, evaporated milk and vanilla extract and beat it until it was well blended.

Before adding anything to the slow cooker I generously greased it with butter.

Once I had done that, I placed half of the bread in the bottom of the slow cooker and drizzled it with 2 tablespoons of melted better. Next I poured half of the pumpkin mixture over it and topped it with 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. I repeated the layers…

Then covered the slow cooker and set it to cook on high for 2 hours.

After some careful inverting I transferred the bread pudding to a platter. Now, you could just serve it from the slow cooker – especially if you are serving it to a large crowd – but, if you choose to transfer it don’t make the same mistake I did. Let it cool for a few minutes before trying to flip it. I did it a little too soon after it was done and part of it fell apart. I will say that this definitely doesn’t look like your traditional bread pudding; it sort of reminded me of Monkey Pull Apart Bread. Regardless it was tasty although it didn’t have a strong pumpkin flavor. So it would be ideal for those who like pumpkin but don’t love it!

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Servings: 6-8
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Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup milk

1 (14-ounce) can evaporated milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for greasing slow cooker

1 small French baguette, cubed

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

In a medium bowl combine the eggs, sugars, cinnamon and ginger and mix well with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin, milks and vanilla and continue beating until blended.

Generously butter the slow cooker insert and cover the bottom with half of the cubed bread and drizzle with melted butter. Pour half of the pumpkin mixture over it and top with half of the pecans. Repeat the layers.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours until set and puffed. Best served warm.

From the book The $7 a Meal Slow Cooker Cookbook

Panettone Bread Pudding

Customarily bread pudding is made with day old (or even older) stale bread… I think this where some people get turned off from eating or even trying it. The idea that something has to go “old” to be turned into something delicious is a bit of an oxymoron. Well, if this is what your apprehension is to trying or making bread pudding today I have a recipe for you that uses panettone, an Italian sweet bread along the lines of a fruit cake, but, definitely not as a dense. And since the holidays – yes, I said the “H” word in September – are just around the corner you’ll be seeing those lovely boxes of panettone everywhere soon enough.

To begin I cubed a 2lb. round panettone and spread it on a baking sheet and lightly toasted it in a 350 F oven for 10 minutes. Once cooled I put the cubes in a large bowl.

In a medium bowl I whisked together eggs, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla extract. I then slowly whisked in warmed heavy cream – you don’t want to add the heavy cream too quickly as you may end up with scrambled eggs – and continued whisking the mixture until the sugar had dissolved.

I poured the egg mixture over the cubed panettone along with some golden raisins.

After folding all of the ingredients together, making sure that the panettone had soaked in the egg mixture well, I let the mixture stand for 20 minutes.

Next, I transferred the mixture to a buttered 9 x 13 inch baking dish and baked it in the oven for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. After removing the aluminum foil I baked it for another 10 minutes. After removing it from the oven I let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Once cooled I transferred it to a cutting board and cut some pretty healthy pieces.

And while this bread pudding it delicious on its own due to the deliciousness of the panettone itself and the addition of extra raisins, cinnamon and nutmeg it’s even better when warmed and topped with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!

Panettone Bread Pudding

Servings: 12-16
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Ingredients:

2 lb. round panettone, cut into cubes and lightly toasted

6 eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups heavy cream, warmed

1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 350 F and butter (you can also use a cooking spray) a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

After the panettone cubes have cooled place them in a large bowl. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream, whisking until the sugar has completely dissolved. Pour the mixture over the panettone cubes, and then add in the raisins. Fold all of the ingredients together and let stand for 20 minutes.

Transfer the panettone mixture to the prepared baking dish and cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 -15 minutes; until a toothpick inserted in the center of the pudding comes out clean but is still slightly wet.

Recipe is from a Williams-Sonoma Class